Ivanovic defends AVB right to read riot act to Chelsea flops

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GENK vs CHELSEA

CHELSEA defender Branislav Ivanovic has admitted Andre Villas-Boas had every right to read the riot act to his players after his side shipped five goals at home for the first time in 22 years on Saturday.

Blues boss Villas-Boas denied delivering a “rant” to his squad during Sunday’s post-mortem of Saturday’s 5-3 defeat to Arsenal but Ivanovic would not have complained had he done so.

The Serbian, who partnered captain John Terry in the heart of Chelsea’s defence at the weekend, confirmed the players had already watched a re-run of the match.

“We didn’t play like we should,” he said. “It was a tough game and I think there were a lot of reasons for the manager to be angry, but not only the manager.

“The whole team were angry and we have to show a reaction, to show character, and change things in our side for us.”

Chelsea’s dressing room is packed with forceful characters and there were plenty of honest words among the players themselves.

Ivanovic said: “Between us, there’s always good communication and good chatting after the game. Straight away, we knew where we went wrong.”

“The words don’t need to be explained because everyone has to look in the mirror and be honest about how we played defensively.”